Making Choices, Building Voices

PinoyYouth.Now (State of the Filipino Youth)

The Youth: Our Responsibility & Our Hope Why the youth are an important development concern?

PinoyYouth.Now (State of the Filipino Youth) Knowing & Understanding The Youth Socio-demographic profile, Social Environment, Youth and Parental perception

PinoyYouth.Now (State of the Filipino Youth) Getting Concerned About Their Reproductive Health Views, Knowledge and Attitudes Sexual, Non-Sexual and Multiple Risk Behaviors

PinoyYouth.Now (State of the Filipino Youth) Rethinking and Enriching Our Youth Development Programs The Voice of the Youth Must Be Heard in All Youth- Related Efforts

World Today 6,865,325,740 people

And EVERY DAY!  3 BILLION has 80 pesos in their wallet  1 BILLION has 40 pesos in their pockets  30,000 people are going to bed really hungry! ONE IN EVERY 3 SECONDS A child dies because there’s no food in the table.

Philippines TODAY!  1 out of 2 consider themselves poor = 25,865,949 PINOYs  36.8% of the population is living below the poverty line (P33.61 per day) = 25,865,949 PINOYs  13.8% of the population has a food allowance of P7.50 per meal = 12,568,665 PINOYs 97,000,000

PinoyYouth.Now (State of the Filipino Youth) The Youth: Our Responsibility & Our Hope

Agents of Change  20% to 30% of voters will come from the youth sector  Sangguniang Kabataan

OUR PARENTS BROUGHT US TO THIS WORLD We had not chosen to be born, but we need choices to move on to a brighter future

Future Parents  Of the estimated 1.7 million babies born every year, around 30% come from young women  By age 24, each of our young women already bore 1 child, on average

Population 19.4 million Growth Rate 2.11% Ratio 102 males : 100 females Poverty level 3 of 10 youths are poor Socio-Demographic Profile

PinoyYouth.Now (State of the Filipino Youth) Knowing & Understanding Ourselves

Social Environment  FAMILY  SCHOOL  FRIENDS  5 close friends  primary source of information about sex  MEDIA  source of authority regarding what is right, what is wrong, what is important  new surrogate parent  8-14 hours/week watching TV  CHURCH  GOVERNMENT

Views, Knowledge and Attitudes  Majority still prize VIRGINITY  Young people continue to LOOK POSITIVELY on MARRIAGE  There is an INCREASING TOLERANCE for WOMEN ENGAGING in PREMARITAL SEX

PinoyYouth.Now (State of the Filipino Youth) Getting Concerned About Our Reproductive Health

Views, Knowledge and Attitudes  95% AGAINST ABORTION  9 of 10 youths believe the government should provide family planning services  some 8 of 10 think it proper that these services also be provided to the youth

Views, Knowledge and Attitudes Knowledge about sexuality and fertility  Almost half were unaware that pregnancy was possible after only 1 sexual encounter  Only 2% know about menstruation and sex  Awareness of AIDS was 95%. However, misconceptions on the curability had worsened

Youth in Focus Males and females attach different meanings to virginity and pre-marital sex Males Females Do not give much importance to virginity Put a high premium on virginity

Youth in Focus Males and females attach different meanings to virginity and pre-marital sex Males Females View sex basically as a pleasurable activity that need not have anything to do with love See sex as strongly connected with love

Youth in Focus Males and females attach different meanings to virginity and pre-marital sex Males Females An occasion to hone one’s skills in love making and possibly, to strengthen intimacy when done responsibly Not as much inclined Should be reserved for marriage

Sexual, Non-Sexual and Multiple Risk-Behaviors Premarital Sex (PMS) Around 23% or 2 of 10 Filipino youth had premarital sex in 2002 Almost all (94%) who already had sex said they were unwilling and unprepared to become parents Highest in NCR and Eastern Visayas Average age of initiation to sex is 17.5 years old

Sexual, Non-Sexual and Multiple Risk-Behaviors Unprotected Sex More females did not use any contraceptive method during their first sexual encounter

Sexual, Non-Sexual and Multiple Risk-Behaviors First Sex Partners Almost 4 of 5 young females with men usually older, whom they regard as their boyfriends or ‘steadies’ Young males were more into Casual Sex - about 2 of 5 who had PMS with either a friend or plain acquaintance

Sexual, Non-Sexual and Multiple Risk-Behaviors Homosexual sex emerging 5% of boys admitted having first sex with males >1% of females had lesbian sexual relationships 12% of very early first sex (13 years old and below) was homosexual

First sex experience by venue of sexual debut and gender VenueMaleFemale Home Partner’s home Friend/employer’s house, boarding house, relative’s house, office Hotel or motel, sauna/beer house Others (car, beach, park, school classroom, farm, field, beauty parlor, etc)

Sexual, Non-Sexual and Multiple Risk-Behaviors Marriage and Live-In More and more Filipino youth have chosen to postpone marriage 73% of males and 57% of females (20-24 yrs) remained single Nearly 4% of females aged and around 8% aged were in live-in arrangements

Sexual, Non-Sexual and Multiple Risk-Behaviors Pregnancy During Adolescence Young pregnancies 30% of all births, 6% of spontaneous abortions 3 of 4 maternal deaths Abortion 4 of 10 abortion complications were from the youth

Multiple Risk-Behaviors Put them at high risk for premature death, disability, or chronic illnesses

Non-Sexual Behavior SMOKING - Almost half (47%) - Males being more prone DRINKING - 70% drank alcohol - 93% for males; 70% females DRUG ABUSE -11% of boys and girls - rampant in high school and college Sexual, Non-Sexual and Multiple Risk-Behaviors

Non-Sexual Behavior SUICIDE 12% have had at least 1 suicide attempt Females (17%) more prone to commit suicide than males (7%) VIOLENCE Younger males years (17%) compared to older males (12%). Same pattern was observed among females (13% vs. 10%)

Young people’s engagement in risk behaviors appears to be temporary. Significant proportions of both male and female adolescents and young adults eventually dropped out from vices. Drop Out Rates: Smoking (60 %) Drugs (75 %) Drinking (40 %) Sexual, Non-Sexual and Multiple Risk-Behaviors

RISK-TAKING BEHAVIOR ARE INTERLINKED Those who Smoke, Drink and Use Drugs are more likely to have SEX. On the other hand, Having Sex is most strongly linked to Drug Use, than with smoking and drinking, and later, to thoughts of Suicide and Violence

PinoyYouth.Now (State of the Filipino Youth) Rethinking and Enriching Our Youth Development Programs The voice of the youth must be heard in all youth-related efforts

What Are We Doing to Help Them? Our Youth Development Programs Our Youth Development Programs

What More Do We Need To Do? Our Youth Development Programs Our Youth Development Programs A growing number of youths are engaging in risky behaviors without understanding its consequences

What More Do We Need To Do? Our Youth Development Programs Our Youth Development Programs Adults do not know how to communicate openly about sexuality with young people

What More Do We Need To Do? Our Youth Development Programs Our Youth Development Programs Media is playing a bigger role in young lives

What More Do We Need To Do? Our Youth Development Programs Our Youth Development Programs Health and development policies, programs and services ignore youth’s needs

What More Do We Need To Do? Our Youth Development Programs Our Youth Development Programs The voice of the youth must be heard in all youth-related efforts

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